


Captain's Orders

by swiperade



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Found Family, ITS FINALLY HERE, he needs to stop bottling up his problems, i forget how to tag, minor injuries (later), someone send help, to everyone, warriors is a therapist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:03:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28908288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swiperade/pseuds/swiperade
Summary: 8 times that Warriors helped the Links and 1 time they helped him in return.(Basically an 8+1 fic because they make me happy. I also wanted more Warriors content)
Relationships: Four & Warriors (Linked Universe), Hyrule & Warriors (Linked Universe), Legend & Warriors (Linked Universe), Sky & Warriors (Linked Universe), Time & Warriors (Linked Universe), Twilight & Warriors (Linked Universe), Warriors & Wild (Linked Universe), Warriors & Wind (Linked Universe)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 83





	Captain's Orders

**Author's Note:**

> eeeeee im really excited to finally post this! A big shoutout to Pan on the the LU discord for helping me edit this because lord knows that I needed it. Anyway enjoy :)

Warriors liked to consider himself an attentive person. It came with being a captain, with paying attention to the health and welfare of his soldiers, and making sure that they weren’t injured after a battle. It wouldn’t surprise anyone that the captain was the first to notice Time’s dilemma. 

It started the previous morning, when their pace was slower than usual. The sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, so it was possible that the heroes were just taking a break from their usual hurried pace. Warriors didn’t think too much of it, why should he? 

Time normally stood to the front leading the small group of heroes, but today Twilight led the pack, Wild perched on his shoulders. While it wasn’t out of place for the best tracker to lead them through unfamiliar terrain, it was still odd Time wasn’t with him. 

But now that he looked closer, there was an unnatural pallor to his skin, and the dark bags under his eyes were more prevalent than usual. The clunk of Time’s feet in his heavy boots were slow and dragging on the ground, which was a stark change from how he usually wore them so well.

Oh. 

_ Oh. _

How long had it been since Time slept? A worried frown pulled at Warriors’ face, and soon enough his mind was filled with thoughts about a little kid in a green hat, wielding a sword too big for him. He shook away the thought, turning his attention back to the Old Man as he silently picked up his pace to walk by him.

“I guess your age is finally catching up to you,” Warriors joked, immediately regretting his inability to comfort him. Time didn’t respond for a moment, blinking before realizing that the captain was next to him.

“Is that so?” He answered, eyes focusing again on the barren road ahead of him. Warriors fake smile fell from his face. 

“Cryptic as always, I see how it is,” The captain answered, nervously fiddling with his scarf as he looked around the road to see if there was any sort of civilization nearby. 

“I think you should relax, Captain” Time insisted, and Warriors crossed his arms impatiently. 

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you looked in a mirror right now, Old Man,” He muttered under his breath, and Time chuckled, exhaustion evident in his expression before he quickly masked it once again. “Hey Rancher, how long until we make it to that village that the sign told us about?”

“We’ll be there soon enough, I hope. Why, is your hair getting messed up from all this walking?” Twilight joked, Wild snickering from his place on the rancher’s back. Laughter ran through the group as Warriors rolled his eyes. 

“Ha, ha, very funny everyone. I was actually wondering because Legend needs a bath because he stinks,” He brushed it off easily. It always seemed like he could get out of further questions if he poked a bit of fun at Legend. 

“Now you listen to me-“

“That’s enough of that,” Twilight interrupted from the front, cutting off the argument before it could even start. That wasn’t what Warriors was paying attention to. He was more concerned that Time didn’t even bat his eye at their bickering like he always did. 

However, the Old Man didn’t seem too interested in talking at the moment. After another minute of Time avoiding the captain’s gaze, Warriors’ shoulders slumped, and he resigned himself to finishing the trek to the village in silence.

**********

After another hour of walking, the group of heroes arrived at their destination. It was a quaint little village, with only the basics, but to the band of heroes, it looked like a luxury. Sighs of relief ran throughout the group as they walked through the gates, and Warriors didn’t miss how much Time’s shoulders slumped in exhaustion. 

“Well, I’m beat,” Warriors announced, closing his eyes and putting his hands on his hips for emphasis. He felt eyes turn to him as the heroes approached the inn. “Wild, do you want to make some tea when we get inside?” 

“What kind? My Zelda and I have been trying different things, I have Violet Tea, Safflina Tea, Wildberry Tea, Herbal Tea, Nightshade Tea-“

“I actually have some tea bags from my era that I’d like to make,” Warriors interrupted, cutting Wild off with a small smile. The champion shrugged and continued walking. 

Inside, Time started securing rooms while the captain followed Wild into the kitchen. Warriors wasted no time having Wild helping him get the water boiling with some gratuitous use of a fire rod. 

“What kind of tea are you making?” The champion asked nonchalantly, leaning back on one of the kitchen stools. 

“It’s just normal Black Tea. Stole it from the castle kitchens last time we were in my era,” Warriors replied as he dropped two teabags into the water with a small  _ plink _ . The scarred hero held one of the extra teabags to his nose to sniff it, his ears flicking as he set the bag back into the pouch. 

Warriors watched the flavor from the tea slowly steep into the water. Wild gave it a stir, and the captain smiled a bit to himself when the steam coming off the water disappeared into the air. 

Soon enough, the water had turned a nice brown color. Warriors carefully grabbed two cups from where they sat on the wooden counter of the inn’s small kitchen and he filled them with the tea, swirling it around in the cup, enjoying the warmth it spread to his hands. He made sure he thanked Wild before making his way down the hall to the room that Time was staying in. Warriors tapped his foot on the door, and the voices inside hushed.

“Hey Captain,” Twilight answered, letting Warriors through. “How’d you make tea that quickly? Don’t you have to boil water?”

“Wild had a meteor rod,” Warriors laughed when the rancher quickly excused himself so he could go make sure that the building wasn’t going to burn down. 

“Please tell me that you didn’t put the entire village in jeopardy just to make tea,” Time mused, sitting on the edge of one of the two beds. Warriors lips twitched upwards, and he handed the old man a cup. 

“Of course not. I count as adult supervision, don’t I?” 

“It’s debatable,”

Warriors sighed, and sat down on the bed, leaning against one of the pillows. Time did the same. Awkward silence followed, neither party knowing exactly what they wanted to say. 

“So-“

“You aren’t feeling well,” Warriors interrupted, cutting Time off. The Old Man merely laughed bitterly, taking a sip of his tea. 

“And you’re more observant than we give you credit for,” he responded, thinking for a moment before sighing in defeat. “But no… I can’t say that I’m feeling the best at the moment,”

“Why aren’t you taking care of yourself? You always make an effort to get us to take care,” 

“But I’m not hiding an injury,” 

“That’s what someone hiding an injury would say,” Warriors retorted quickly, giving Time an amused side eye. The older hero glared back, unamused. 

“What are you implying?” 

“I’m just making a joke, Old Man. Resting when you need too is part of self-care,”

The two sat in silence for a little bit, the only sounds being the gentle clicks of the cups when either of the heroes set them down. Warriors watched Time yawn from the corner of his eye.

“What’s really going on?” Time flinched at the question, eyebrows raised in surprise. Warriors shrugged as he took a sip of his tea. “You obviously haven’t been sleeping. Why? Nightmares, just can’t sleep, what is it?”

“I suppose it’s a habit I picked up on my last adventure,” The Old Man responded cryptically. Warriors snorted into his cup.

“It seems like something more than that. I don’t think you would’ve hid it that well if it was merely a habit,” Time stayed silent for a moment, presumably considering his options before he opened his mouth to speak.

“I- hm, I don’t like seeming weak to the boys. I’m sure you know how it is when you’ve got people looking up to you. You’ve got to stay strong,” Time looked away, glancing down to the floor. Warriors turned to look at Time, who didn’t meet his gaze.

“I think I’d understand more than anyone. Though even though it feels like it, the others will understand if you need time to rest. We all do at some point,” Warriors paused, memories of the kid in green begging him to sleep coming back to him. The captain buried the memories. “It’s better than working yourself to the bone,”

Time glanced over and met Warriors’ gaze, before letting out an amused huff. 

“I suppose that you would understand more than most,” 

“I do. I had trouble with it, especially during the war. I used to stay up late at night, planning and strategizing. There was always this one kid though, nearly every night he’d come into my tent and promise that he’d go to sleep if I went with him,” Warriors remembered, his gaze falling to the tan bed sheets as a nostalgic smile crept onto his face. “He helped me realize that I didn’t always have to stay strong for him,”

“I understand the logic of it, Malon’s made sure of that…” Time paused and leaned against the head of the bed, suddenly becoming very interested in the ceiling. “It’s hard to accept though, that you all see me as a role model. I’ve messed up so many things, I don’t understand why any of you would want someone like me,”

“We call you Old Man for a reason. You make them feel wanted and understood. Everyone’s had their own troubles, but you’re always there to give them advice when they need it. You’re like a father to them,”

The room fell silent again, but this time it was a comfortable one. Time pulled his knees up to his chest, sending a pang of nostalgia through Warriors’ heart. 

“I suppose I haven’t thought about it like that,” Time finally answered. Warriors’ relaxed, kicking off his boots and pulling his feet on the bed in a similar position to Time’s

“If you want to rest now, I’ll make sure the others don’t bother you,” Warriors offered, glancing at the Old Man.

Time smiled, a rare sight, before he set the cup of tea down. 

“You really care that much?” he asked, eyebrows raised in amusement before his features relaxed, and his smile grew smaller, eyes filling with a light that Warriors had never seen before.

“Of course I care. Now please get some sleep,” Warriors shifted his position, fully facing Time, who looked at him skeptically with a genuine grin on his face. “Captain’s orders, Old Man,”

“Are you really pulling rank right now?” Time asked through a yawn, the idea of sleep too enticing. 

“You’re the one who’s pulling themself under the covers,” 

“I’m just resting my eye, captain,” 

“Right,” Warriors gave Time a bemused look, who rolled his eyes and turned over. His back ended up facing the captain, who was fighting the urge to grab the blanket and tuck Time in like he used to when the old man was just a kid. 

He remembered the cold nights in the military tents, and all the times he found the one little boy awake, trying to do anything but sleep. 

Even though Warriors never thought that that kid would outgrow him, at that moment the captain couldn’t see anything other than the little boy he met during the war. 

Old habits die hard, he supposed as he gingerly removed his scarf from his shoulders and placed it around Time, who startled slightly. 

“You should stay warm, even if you’re just resting your eye, old man,” The captain said. Warmth spread through him at the small but genuine smile that Time responded with. 

Warriors stayed by Time’s side until the older hero’s breathing slowed and fell into a consistent rhythm. Now that he was asleep, Warriors couldn’t help but notice that Time looked so small and so  _ tired _ . 

The Old Man suddenly shifted in his sleep, and Warriors gently adjusted his scarf so that it covered his shoulders once more. He grinned, huffing in gentle amusement. He’d wake Time up when dinner was ready.


End file.
